5-star QB Dylan Raiola flips from Georgia to Nebraska

Dylan Raiola, a 5-star quarterback who was among the most coveted recruits in college football, has decided to switch his commitment from two-time defending national champion Georgia in favor of joining Matt Rhule’s rebuilding project at Nebraska, ESPN reported on Monday.

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“I firmly believe that Nebraska is in my blood,” Raiola told ESPN of his decision to flip. “It’s a great opportunity to be part of something bigger than myself. Nebraska is a special place.”

Raiola is the No. 2-ranked quarterback in the nation — No. 6 overall — per the 247 composite rankings for the class of 2024. His flip comes two days ahead of Wednesday’s opening of the early signing period.

While Raiola committed to Georgia in May, there were reports and rumors in recent weeks that Nebraska was gaining momentum to flip his commitment. Nebraska reportedly told fellow three-star quarterback recruit and incoming freshman Daniel Kaelin that it believed it had a good chance of landing Raiola, who visited the school’s campus over the weekend.

Indications that Nebraska was landing Raiola seemed to grow over the last few days. Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord opted not to commit to Nebraska after taking a visit, which many speculated was the precursor to Raiola’s announcement. McCord announced he was committing to Syracuse on Sunday.

Shortly before ESPN’s report on Monday, Georgia starting quarterback Carson Beck announced he was returning for the 2024 season, making it unlikely Raiola would’ve started if he remained committed to the Bulldogs.

Even though Raiola played high school football in Texas, Arizona and Georgia, he’s heading to a program that has family ties. Raiola’s father, Dominic, was an offensive lineman at Nebraska, and his uncle, Donovan, is currently Nebraska’s offensive line coach.

The Cornhuskers gave Dominic Raiola a contract extension at some point this season that upped his salary by 53%, the Omaha World-Herald first reported. The extension kept the lone holdover from Scott Frost’s coaching staff under contract through the end of the 2024 season, which is reportedly the same length of the contracts for the rest of the position coaches on Rhule’s staff.

Dylan Raiola told ESPN, though, that he hadn’t made any decision to flip his commitment before he visited Nebraska over the weekend.

“I went up there with an open mind,” Raiola said. “I think it was just another opportunity to be around the whole coaching staff and understand really Coach Rhule’s vision and culture and what he intends for Nebraska to be. He understands that himself. That’s huge. He can implement that into his coaching style and the way he interacts with his players.

“… I noticed the way that his players gravitate to him. He really cares about the person and the man that you are becoming. He uses the football platform to help develop you as a man. That’s what makes him the most special. He gets the most out of them, because he’s built strong relationships.”

Raiola’s first commitment was to Ohio State, announcing his intention to join Ryan Day and the Buckeyes in May 2022. However, he decommitted from Ohio State last December and reopened his recruitment. A month later, he announced that Georgia, Nebraska, USC and Oregon were his four finalists.

Now, Raiola will look to help Rhule and the Cornhuskers turn things around as the program is in the midst of its most disappointing stretch in its history. Nebraska has finished with a losing record in eight of the last nine seasons and hasn’t played in a bowl game since the 2016 season. The Cornhuskers went 5-7 in Rhule’s first season.

Quarterback was arguably the position Nebraska had the most problems with in 2023. Jeff Sims began the season as the team’s starter, but Heinrich Haarberg later took his spot. Haarberg started the majority of the season, throwing for 967 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions with 477 rushing yards and five rushing scores. Chubba Purdy started the final two games of the season, throwing for 382 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions with 180 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Sims is in the transfer portal, while Haarberg and Purdy are still on Nebraska’s roster, for now.

This is a developing story.